I'm actually still uploading another story at the same time time I'm starting that one. Barely any people at all were reading that one because of the anime it was based off of, so I dropped it for now, but there are still three chapters I have written that I will update with before completely stopping. This is my first time uploading two stories at once, so I'm not sure how it'll go. I guess I just got bored over vacation. You know, too much time on my hands. I don't get out much. Also, this is my first time pulling the characters out of the original story line and putting them into an alternate dimension. I thought it'd be fun, though, so I went on a writing rampage today and wrote for probably three hours total, if not more. I should mention I won't be putting in the details of physical description describing my main character so you can see her however you want, or put yourself in her place. So, without farther ado, I introduce you to Mari.

The indigo fog enfolds the forest of winding trees, swallowing them into its depths. Although the sun sits directly overhead, under the cover of the faded green leaves and distressing fog it is as dark as a moonless night. It is easy to see why the rumors deem this forest to be haunted, a place swarmed by demons, where travelers never emerge.

The path before me leads straight into the blur of purple before disappearing. As far as I can see, it has not been used for years. The only footprints to be seen are those of beasts, most like rabbits or deer, but farther in I can just barely make out the tracks of a creature much, much larger. A sudden breeze chills me, causing me to wrap my brown cloak around myself tighter.

Maybe I should turn back. I can handle my problems without a familiar, can't I? It's not like any of the opponents have magic in their blood. I might be going overboard, blowing this out of proportion. There's no reason for me to risk my life like this, is there?

I nod to myself, rolling up the map and replacing it in its container. "Come on, Noni," I address the husky at my side. "Let's go back home." Ready to go, I turn, but Noni doesn't follow me. His ears are pointed forwards, eyes clearly locked onto something. I follow his gaze, squinting to see what it is through the fog. Not seeing anything, I pat his rear to get his attention. He doesn't budge.

"Noni, come. We're not going in there, okay boy? Noni?" He doesn't even respond to his name with a twitch of his tail, completely enraptured with whatever he's seeing in the forest. Usually when he does something like this, he starts barking like a mad dog after a few seconds, but that doesn't seem to cross his mind as he stares in the woods.

Finally, he glances to me and nudges my leg with his nose. "What? Go in? I don't think that's a good idea, Noni. What do you see in there, a rabbit? Those are all over the village. You don't need to specifically chase the one in there."

This time he presses his whole head to my leg, pushing until I'm forced to stumble a step forward. Then he looks up and meets my gaze. I hesitate. Noni usually has pretty keen instincts, and his urging has never put anyone in any danger before. If he were to push one of the children to jump off the bridge over the river, they'd do it, because they'd know he's keeping them out of danger. It's happened before, actually, when a venomous serpent got to close to little Haruhi while she was playing with Noni.

"Fine," I yield. "But only for a bit. We have to return for supper." He steps away from my leg, satisfied, before trotting ahead. I rush to catch up, reaching over my shoulder and scrambling to get the map back out. The area circled on the parchment is deeper in than I'd like it to be, but it shouldn't be too difficult to get to in theory. I only have to change directions twice, which will make it easy enough to retrace my steps and get out.

All noises from the village quickly fade as we tread farther, leaving only the whispers of the wind and the crunch of my footsteps to keep us company. Noni stays by my side like always, not a single step ahead or behind. Every now and again, when my hand cramps from holding onto the map too tightly, I reach over to pet his head.

It continuously grows darker, until I can't even read the map when I hold it right in front of my face. With a few twirls of a finger, a tiny flame sparks in midair. It sits far enough not to burn me or the map, but close enough to illuminate what I need. Sometimes I wish I had a cat's eyes so I could see in the dark, but modifying one's body with magic is strictly forbidden. Not that I would if it was allowed, anyway. The idea of replacing my eyes strikes me as kind of disgusting.

When we come to the first turn we're supposed to take, I grimace. There's no defined path whatsoever, only a deertrail. How crazy were my ancestors, to venture into the enchanted forest like this? And not only just entering them, but to leave the paths? How did they ever return?

"Noni, we're going back," I state firmly, whirling back the way we came. To my surprise, his teeth close over the skirt of my dress. He's never bitten anything before, not since he was a puppy, and for him to bite me….even if it is just my dress, he never does anything like this. I kneel down to look at him eye level. "What's up with you? Why do you want to be here so badly? There are monsters in here, you know? If we run into one of them, we're done for."

He simply returns my stare, the little floating flame reflected in his one blue eye. Sighing, I scratch his ear, placing my palm over where the other eye should've been.

"If we get near anything, you warn me, and we'll sprint the whole way home. Understand?" His tail swishes and I stand up, clenching my teeth. The dragon wouldn't be near the unicorn, would it? It only makes sense that its den is in the opposite direction, right? So we should be safe from it, at least. Right?

Steeling my resolve, I hasten my steps and plunge down the deertrail. I do my best not to touch any of the plants encroaching on the trail, unsure if any are dangerous. I don't recognize a single one, even though the knowledge I have on the variety of herbs in the village is expansive. Perhaps a few of these have medicinal value, but perhaps they would also kill a person. No one has ever tried harvesting from the enchanted forest, so no one would know. I certainly do not want to be the one who finds out which ones kill.

A rustling stops me in my tracks, freezing me. I scan the direction it came from, feeling a bead of sweat form near my hairline. What is it? I knew we shouldn't have come this far! What if it's an imp? I've read that they can be found in places like this, that they trick travelers into accidently killing themselves so they can eat human flesh. I wonder if I would taste human? Or would my flesh be better or worse than a regular person's?

A shape leaps from the shadows and I trip backwards, foot not finding ground. My breath catches only for a moment before I scream, but that stops when the breath is forced from my lungs as I tumble down a slope.

I do my best to turn horizontal, rolling like I would with the kids on one of the hills, and cover my head with my arms. Thorns and branches snag at my skin, ripping and tearing until my dress is in shred and I bleed from my arms, legs, and sides alike. My cloak catches on something along the way and is yanked from my shoulders. When I slow to a stop, I curl up on my least injured side and cough, thankfully finding no blood in my mouth. My limbs tremble in pain, but I can move everything, so I don't think anything's broken. I have that to be grateful for, at least. Nothing seems to be fatal, but if I don't get all these gashes cleaned soon, infection could set in. There's also a few wounds that need to be wrapped and could take weeks to heal.

"N...Noni?" I call weakly. "No...ni? Come...here...boy." No wet nose meets my skin, so I have to assume that he might still be up on the path, or probably skidding down the slope as we speak to find me. I'll have to use him as support to climb back up to the trail and go back to the village.

I flip my head, resting my cheek on the cold ground and examining where I fell. With the tree blocking my view, I can't see where I originally came from. The incline is steeper than I had thought, at almost ninety degrees. How far, exactly, was that drop? If not for the trees sprouting out of the side of the cliff face, that could've killed me! I'm lucky to get away with minor injuries like these instead of a crushed hip or broken legs. Perhaps after the pain dies down a bit, I'll be able to climb back up.

Then I remember my history of tree climbing and sigh. Maybe climbing up is not the best idea for me. The map is crunched between my hands, crumpled, but still useful.. There might be a way around this that won't involve me having to scale the slope in this condition.

Where is Noni? What's taking him so long? I need him down here so I can support myself to get back before sundown. Mother is not going to be happy with us already, with me looking like this, but she'll really be angry if we return after supper. She was against this little expedition to begin with, anyway.

I call out again. "No...Noni? Come, Noni." When he doesn't respond, my blood runs cold. That things from before, what had it been? How big had it looked? Could it have attacked Noni? Could it have eaten him?

The image of Noni lifeless in a pool of blood slips into my mind and my heart rate increases tenfold. "Noni! Noni, speak! Speak boy! No-" A sharp sting in my side as I try to sit up steals my voice. He can't be dead! I've raised him from puppyhood! I can't...he can't…

"NONI! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"When do you think she'll realize we're here?"

I pause, the voice having come from right behind me. It doesn't say anything else.

"Who...who are you?" I demand, voice trembling.

"Well, I'm Hikaru."

"And I'm Kaoru."

"Who are you?" They chorus.

A gust of hot air wafts over me and I tense, eyes flying wide. Slowly, ever so slowly, I twist. The pain of my injuries stabs through me, but I ignore it, seeing the creature looming over me, and meeting two ginormous pairs of gleaming, gold eyes.

For some reason, she has a distinctly different vibe than the other characters I've written about so far. I don't know what it is about her that makes me feel that way, though. Maybe it's that she's more easily scared. I don't know, really. She feels more normal to me than other characters I've written, but maybe that's just my imagination. What is normal, anyway? I've always seen that word as a bit of a paradox. Everyone is weird in some way, right? So if you're normal, doesn't that make you weird? See the dilemma? So, how do you guys envision her? What does Mari look like? When I post the final chapter, I'll tell everyone a few of the descriptions put in the comments and tell you how I myself see her.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!